Marking and salvaging device for sunken ships



2, 1 936. E. ELLINGSON 1,772,861

MAI RKING AND SALVAGING DEVICE FOR SUNKEN SHIPS FiledSept. 30, 1929 2Sheets-Sheet l wa /v70? ELLNG ELLNGSON. 5

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Aug. 12, 1930. E. ELLINGSON 1,772,861

MARKING AND SALVAGING DEVICE FOR SUNKEN SHIPS Filed Sept. 50, 1929 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 12, 1930 UNiTE STATES ELLING ELLINGSON, OFSAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA MARKING AND SALVAGIN G DEVICE FOR SUNKEN SHIPSApplication filed September 30, 1829.

My invention relates to improvements in devices for markin the positionof sunken ships wherein a palr of floats are provided with a line havingits ends connected to and wound upon the floats and engaging a mooringmember secured to a ship whereby the line may be unwound from the floatsas said floats rise to the surface to moor the same to the ship and markits positiom-said line also serving to provide means for attaching acable to the ship for raising and salvaging the same.

The primary object of my invention is to provide an improved device formarking the position of sunken ships whereby said ships may be easilylocated from the surface of the water.

Another object is to provide an improved marking device of the characterdescribed which automatically accommodates itself to Z0 extreme depthsof water. I

A further object is to provide an improved device of the characterdescribed which will aiford simple and eflective means for attaching acable to the ship for raising and salvaging the same.

Another object is to provide an improved device by which a cable may beattached from the surface of the water to a sunken ship, the attachingmeans being arranged to direct the 4 lifting power directly upon thekeel of the shi A still further object is to provide an improved deviceof the character described which is simple and eflicient and which maybe easily and economically installed.

I accomplish these and other objects by means of the improved devicedisclosed in the drawings forming a part of the present applicationwherein like characters of reference arev used to designate similarparts throughout the specification and drawings, and in which.

Fig. l is a broken transverse diagrammatic section of the hull of a shipshowing the manner in which my improved device is mounted thereon;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the marker float drums and the mounting andconnections therefor;

Fig. 3 is a broken side elevation, partly in Serial No. 396,231.

section of the device as shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. i is a diagrammatic view showing the manner in which my improveddevice marks the position of a sunken ship;

Fig. 5 is a similar diagrammatic view showing the manner in which thedevice operates to mark the position of a ship sunk in an extreme depthof water; and

Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the mooring member showing the manner inwhich it is rigidly connected to the ship.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 is used to designate in generalthe hull of a ship. A pair of floats 2 and 3 are detachably mounted inany convenient position upon the ship, upon opposite sides of a mooringmember 4 secured to the ship 1. The floats preferably consist of hollowbuoyant drums of substantially different size and each provided withannular flanges 6 at the ends thereof. A suitable flexible line 7 hasits ends secured to opposite floats 2 and 3 said line being extendedthrough a slip sleeve 8, formed upon the mooring member 4, and

wound substantially equally upon the floats 2 and 3 between the endflanges 6 thereof.

In the drawings I have illustrated a mounting means consisting of a pairof bearing brackets 9 engaging axially disposed mounting extensions 11arranged upon the ends of the floats. Bearing blocks 12 are loosely heldacross the top of the brackets 9 and extensions 11 by means of pins 14normally holding the floats against shifting and permitting the floatsto be readily released to float to the surface of the water in event theship sinks. The mooring member l is rigidly secured to rigid verticalmembers 16 extending to and rigidly connected to the keel 17 of theship. The slip-sleeve 8 of the mooring member is made relatively largeso as to accommodate a relatively heavy cable such as suitable forlifting a sunken ship.

In operation, the line? is wound upon the drum-like'floats as shown inFigs. 2 and 8 of the drawings, the ends of the line being readily woundupon the floats by rotating the same upon the bearing brackets uponwhich they are supported. Inevent the ship sinks, the buoyancy of thefloats 2 and 3 causes till said floats to be lifted clear of theirmountings. As the floats rise to the surface of the water, the portionof the line carried upon each float is unwound. When the floats reachthe surface, the line 7, extending through the slip-sleeve 8 of themooring member 4, moors the floats to the ship and thereby marks theposition of the sunken ship. The length of line wound upon each drum issufficient to permit both floats to rise to the surface when the shipsinks in any ordinary depth of water, as indicated in Fig. L of thedrawings. Should the ship sink in an extreme depth of water, the largerfloat 2 will rise to the surface of the water and the smaller float willbe submerged, as indicated in Fig. 5 of the drawings, the line 7 beingmoved through the slip sleeve 8 to pay out the additional l ngth of linenecessary to permit the larger float to rise to the surface as thesmaller float is submerged due to the greater buoyancy of the largerfloat. The marking device will automatically accommodate itself tounusual depths of water and effectively mark the location of the sunkenship so long as the depth of water does not exceed the total length ofthe line 7 carried by the two floats 2 and 3.

In addition to marking the location of a sunken ship, my improved devicealso affords a simple and effective means for attaching a cable to theship whereby the ship may be raised and salvaged. In this connection,one end of the line 7 is disconnected from its float and a suitablecable, not shown, is secured thereto. By taking in the line 7 at itsopposite end, the line is moved through the slip-sleeve 8 and the cabledrawn downwardly and through said sleeve and back to the surface of thewater, thus making a loop of the cable through the mooring member 4. Bythus threading cables of progressively increasing size and strength. aheavy cable, such as may be necessary for raising the ship, may beattached to the ship through the mooring member 4. As above explained,the mooring member 4: is preferably mounted in connection with a rigidmember 16 connected directly to the keel of the ship whereby the liftingforce may be applied to the keel to raise the ship, the lifting forcethus being distributed evenly without subjecting any portion o the shipto excessive strain.

lVhile I have illustrated only one embodiment of my invention and haveshown only a single pair of floats as applied upon a ship the specificstructure and arrangement may of course be modified in a great number ofways, and any desired number of pairs of floats may be installed upon aship without departing from the spirit of my invention. I therefore donot wish to restrict myself to the specific structure and arrangementdisclosed, but desire to avail myself of all modiflcations which mayfall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A device for marking sunken ships comprising a pair of floats ofdifferent size mounted upon a ship; a line having its ends wound uponthe floats and arranged to be unwound therefrom when the floats rise tothe surface of the water in event the ship sinks; and means connected tothe ship and engaging the line intermediate to the floats to moor thefloats to the ship whereby the ship may be located after sinking, saidline being freely movable through the mooring means to permit the lesserfloat to be submerged by the greater and the greater float to rise tothe surface when the length of line is insufiicient to permit bothfloats to rise to the surface.

2. A device for marking sunken ships comprising a pair of floatsdetachably mounted upon a ship, said floats being of different size andeach consisting of a hollow buoyant drum; a line having an end securedto each float drum and wound in substantially equal lengths upon thedrums and arranged to be unwound therefrom as said float drums rise tothe surface of the water in event the ship sinks; and a mooring memberrigidly secured to the ship and engaging the line intermediate the floatdrums to moor said floats to the ship whereby the ship may be locatedfrom the surface after sinking, the line being freely movable in eitherdirection through the mooring member.

In witness whereof, I hereunto set my signature.

ELLING ELLINGSON.

